MARION (AP) — A judge said Wednesday that he plans to rule next week on whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the mother of one of three Cub Scouts killed in northeast Arkansas in 1993.

Pam Hicks filed a civil lawsuit in June in the hopes of viewing evidence in the slaying of her son, 8-year-old Stevie Branch, and his friends, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers. Three men, known as the West Memphis Three, were convicted in the 8-year-old boys' deaths, but released from prison last year as part of a plea deal.

Hicks argues in the lawsuit that police and prosecutors are violating Arkansas' Freedom of Information Act by not allowing her to examine items from the case, including her son's bicycle, clothes and other items. She has said the belongings are precious memories of her son.

Her lawyer, Ken Swindle, said during a hearing Wednesday that Hicks and John Mark Byers, the father of Christopher Byers, want to simply view the evidence, not keep it.

"They want to confirm that it is there," Swindle said in court. "They do believe as parents of children who were murdered that they have standing to view it."

Swindle said the lawsuit was filed after the department and the city attorney repeatedly denied her requests to see the evidence.

David Peeples, attorney for the city of West Memphis, argued that the physical evidence Hicks wants to see is not covered by the state's FOIA law and asked Circuit Court Judge Victor Hill on Wednesday to dismiss the lawsuit.

According to the FOIA law, physical evidence is required to be "permanently impounded and securely retained" by law enforcement following any conviction for a violent offense, in case it needs to be reviewed in the future, Peeples argued.

"That does not reach to bicycles and tennis shoes and clothes," Peeples told the judge.

Hill said he would issue a written ruling next week on the motion to dismiss the case. The judge also said he plans to rule next week on a complaint filed against prosecutor Scott Ellington seeking to force him to turn over documents related to the case.

Ellington has said he's willing to let Hicks view the bicycle and clothing but won't release all investigative materials, including three affidavits filed in December and January. An assistant attorney general said the affidavits are part of an ongoing criminal investigation and are exempt from disclosure laws.

Ellington, who is running for a congressional seat in east Arkansas' 1st District, was not in court Wednesday.

The case of the West Memphis Three has long haunted residents in the town, which is just across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tenn. The boys were found naked and hogtied, and rumors of Satanism emerged during the initial investigation. Branch and Moore drowned in about 2 feet of water in a drainage ditch. Byers bled to death, and his genitals were mutilated and partially removed.

Three teens, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, were convicted in 1994 of killing the boys after Misskelley confessed, implicating himself, Echols and Baldwin. Misskelley later recanted that confession, but he was sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years, Baldwin received life without parole and Echols was sentenced to death.

The three entered Alford pleas last year that allowed them to be released from prison and maintain their claims of innocence.

Hicks and Byers both have questioned the motives behind keeping the evidence from them. Hicks said outside the courthouse that Ellington's claim that there is an ongoing investigation is "a bunch of bull." She said he does not want to release it now because of his political campaign.

Hill dismissed West Memphis Police Chief Donald Oakes and city Mayor William Johnson from the lawsuit Wednesday. The only remaining defendant is the city of West Memphis.